I have a hard time moving them around because I am located in an auditorium. But every time I see their attention waning, I have the bubble game. This is a game that I saw a teacher do once, and its actually a movement game that you can do from your floorspots. But I adapted it for my classroom. Every time they head a I V chord, they know to stand….when they hear an arpeggio …. C E G E C E G E C they take both hands and make a fishy…..when they hear a V I chord, they know to sit. When they hear half steps back and forth C B C B C B they put both hands up in the air and reach high up and wiggle their fingers, I usually tell them tickle the sky. This can happen any time I am teaching. And they love it because they never know what I am going to do. So sometimes I have them stand….sit….stand….sit….tickle the sky…fishy….tickle the sky… and sometimes its really short, and sometimes very long. And sometimes if I use some bass notes they start to giggle because they think its hilarious and they go “Ms. S you are trying to trick us!!” With the older groups they should be able to decipher UP and DOWN based on I V or V I and now they are forced to listen. I should probably be mention that the reason that they call it the bubble game is that while the regular music is playing, the students are supposed to explore the space but they can’t touch another student or they are “out” because what happens when two bubbles touch? They pop. Classroom Music Games – Music Treasure HuntSelect 4 contrasting instruments (any that you like…for example a scraping sound, a hitting sound, a shaking sound and a pitched percussion or barred instrument) Each instrument will represent a sound (left, right, forward, backward). Practice moving around the room to the sounds. Choose 4 students to play instruments, 1 to be the “treasure hunter” and 1 to be the “conductor.” The hunter should go near the door and close his or her eyes (you can use a blindfold too if you like). Then place something (stuffed animal, etc.) somewhere in the room to be the “treasure”. Everyone else has a seat on the ground like a “rock” in the ocean. The conductor tells what instrument to play in order for the hunter to move around the room and find the “treasure” (while their eyes are closed!!!) If they bump into a rock, the game is over and new players are chosen. If they “find the treasure” they are giving an “Authentic Music Treasure Hunter Certificate.” This can be used especially when working on timbre…in older grades the students have brought in their band instruments….and we use a brass, woodwind, string and percussion instrument for the 4 sounds!
Draw a collection of music symbols on the whiteboard and have the students name them as you do so. After that have them turn their backs (or turn the white board around) and erase one. They must name the missing one. Keep going until they are all gone. Frog in the Middle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VibKxDUGsI
Version 1:
1. Everyone sits in a circle
2. One person stands in the middle of the circle (they are the frog) I usually go first.
3. The groups sings the song and as they sing the person in the middle closes or covers their eyes and they spin around with one arm extended out and their pointer finger out.
4. When the song is over the person in the middle stops spinning and opens their eyes.
5. The person they are pointing to becomes a runner and so does the person to their right (will have two runners) 6. The two runners stand up and the person in the middle stands in their spots. They will put their hands to their sides with palms up and elbows bent (like their saying "Why?) 7. The two runners will run in opposite directions. They don't go until the person holding their hands up says "Ready Set Go!"
8 When the two runners meet up with each other they must stop and greet
each other.
9. They shake hands and say "Good morning", then shake with the other hand and say "Good Afternoon", then pat both hands together (up above their heads) and say "Good Evening"
10 They continue to run trying to get back to their originally spot 11. When they get to their spot they must tap the hand of the person who is holding up their hands 12. Whoever taps first becomes the next "Frog in the Middle"
Version 2:
You could have students use each others name when they greet. Before they start to run the person in them middle will decide who is student 1 and who is student 2. Student 1 will shake the hand of student 2 and say "Good morning Jenny". Then they switch hands and Student 2 will say student 1's name "Good morning Michael". When they pat both hands together they would say "See you later" and then continue on running. This version would require that everyone knows each others names. Version 3:
Kids form a standing circle.
The "frog" goes in the center.
The "frog" has arms outstretched and turns around, to choose 2 runners - one where each of his hands is pointing.
The "frog" turns both hands palm up, waiting for the runners to clap his hands.
The runners race around the circle back to their original spots. The first runner to touch the "frog's" hand is the winner.
Since both runners are going in the same direction, there's no danger of collision.
I have all 3 - "frog" and runners sit down in the circle so we know they've had turns and continue the game until everyone has had a turn.
Math Musical Chairs Play math musical chairs by first taping to each chair a math problem written on paper. Start the music; when it stops, everyone must find a chair. Whoever does not find a chair can challenge any of the students. That student must answer the math problem taped to that seat in order to keep it. If he answers incorrectly, the other student must answer the question correctly to win the seat.
One of the best ideas I ‘ve ever tried was “Music Travelling”. It can work very well with preschoolers and primary school children and it promotes creative expression, self confidence, cooperation, geographical knowledge and respect of other cultures. It is also suitable for children with special needs. All you need is a CD with music from different countries, a globe and any other material that you feel that children could use, like ribbons or a big piece of fabric and pictures of traditional instruments. The CD I have prepared contains music from China, India, Russia, Spain, Africa, Japan, South America, Greece and England. So this is how we play the game. As children sit on their chairs we pretend they are on the airplane. The globe turns around and we land for example on China, which is the destination for some ” passengers”( the children sitting on the left table). They have to get off the airplane and visit the country, dance with the music the way they feel like or share with the rest of the class some knowledge they might have of this country.The rest of the class can help with this bit…The same continues with all the music. Ideally you can start and end the session with music from your own country. In the end you can give them a piece of paper and ask them to make a picture of what they found most exciting from their travelling. As they draw you play the CD again.
Rhythm Telephone
This game is suitable for most elementary classrooms and is a good way to keep kids quiet when they have to wait in line. Have the children line up. Walk to the front or back of the line and tap a pattern for the first or last child in line. When you tap the pattern, tap the child's shoulder and cover your hand while doing so. This way only that specific child knows the rhythm pattern. Keep the pattern simple. Have that child imitate what you did on the shoulder of the next student in line. Continue until the pattern has moved through the entire line. Have the last student clap the pattern out loud to see if it is the same as the one you did.Frere
Jacques Partner Dance
The tune "Frere Jacques" is sung. During the first line, children and their partners join hands and take eight steps. On the second sung line, children point at their partners with one hand and then the other. The third line is sung while hands are joined, jiving back and forth. On the fourth line, one child claps twice to the beat followed by the other child clapping. Many singing games follow similar stimulative patterns.
"One Half Claps, One Half Says"
The class is separated in half and one half of the class claps out a rhythm the teacher has on the note card. The other half of the class, without seeing the note card, has to speak the rhythm using the words "ta" (for longer notes) and "tee" (for shorter notes). This game may also be done with one child where the teacher (or parent) does the clapping and the child does the speaking. Even finding the beat to a song can be considered a decent rhythm game for elementary kids.
Rhythm Chain
Have the child who chooses the flashcard go to the front of the room and begin a rhythm chain. Each time you add a child holding a card, have the class clap the rhythms in order. Then, have the children holding the cards turn away from the class and have the class clap the rhythms without seeing them. How many patterns can your class remember?
Mad Sad Glad 2 containers (the "Feelings" hat and the "Song"): 1) sheets of paper that say either mad, sad, or glad; 2) Familiar songs (Twinkle, Twinkle; Jingle Bells; Three Blind Mice; Mary Had a Little Lamb; MPCS School Song; A You're Adorable; Good Morning to You). Divide students into teams of 4-5; each team has 2 sub-teams (a & b). Each turn, a team has an opportunity to earn 2 points when each sub-team sings the song with the chosen feeling and the other sub-team guesses the feeling. Additional points can be awarded if teams are timed and fastest team gets a point.
Create a Melody - Improvisation
You can't do it wrong When you make up a song Any tune you create Will turn out sounding great! Methods: 1) Chant the words to a steady beat repeatedly and follow the up and down inflections of your voice; 2) Clap your hands to get a beat and feeling going before making melody up.
Post Office:
Each student is given an envelope containing three or more index cards. Each card has a known four beat rhythm pattern or a four beat melodic pattern in stick or staff notation. The students open their mail and place the cards so they can see all of them. The teacher claps a message and the students hold up the card for the teacher to see. After the correct rhythm has been determined, that card is put in the envelope and the game continues using the remaining cards until all have been clapped.
King Leopold
I have 1-2-3 Echo Me (That's the book it's in, right?) but I think I saw
it on the list before I got the book, so I probably don't play it
exactly like the instructions say. That's my disclaimer, now here's what
I do, and it has always seemed to work well...
I start off with a story to explain the game: we all live in a kingdom
over here on this side of the room, and we are invited to a
party/ball/whatever in a kingdom over there on the other side of the
room. Only thing is, King Leopold's kingdom is in between our kingdom
and the kingdom where the ball is, so we have to walk across it to get
there. But you don't just walk through someone else's yard or kingdom or
property without asking first, so we have to ask King Leopold if it's ok
to walk across his kingdom to get to our party...
So then a King or Queen is chosen and ensconced in the throne with the
crown and everything (I always used my teacher chair with wheels for the
throne and had a construction paper crown) and told that they can either
let the people cross or ask them to use a different voice to ask again.
The group sings the question first (so-mi) and the king/queen responds.
I display my voice pictures where the king/queen can see them, and if
they tell the group to ask again, I will take down whatever voice they
ask them to use so they don't keep asking them to use the same voice.
That also puts a limit on the turn - once they've asked all the voices,
they have to let them cross!
Once the king/queen gives permission, the rest of the class walks to the
other side of the room (we are polite and respectful of others' property
and walk across, not run!). Then, of course, after the party we have to
go home, so we have to ask King Leopold again if we can walk across his
kingdom... So a new king/queen is chosen, lather, rinse, repeat. (I
always choose the first king/queen with my index cards or popsicle
sticks, and usually I continue to choose that way for subsequent rulers,
especially if we're doing just one or two rounds as a time filler at the
end of class - when I used index cards, I'd make a note on them once
they had a turn so I'd know who to pick. You could also let the reigning
king/queen chose their successor.)
The Bubble Game
I have a hard time moving them around because I am located in an auditorium. But every time I see their attention waning, I have the bubble game. This is a game that I saw a teacher do once, and its actually a movement game that you can do from your floorspots. But I adapted it for my classroom. Every time they head a I V chord, they know to stand….when they hear an arpeggio …. C E G E C E G E C they take both hands and make a fishy…..when they hear a V I chord, they know to sit. When they hear half steps back and forth C B C B C B they put both hands up in the air and reach high up and wiggle their fingers, I usually tell them tickle the sky. This can happen any time I am teaching. And they love it because they never know what I am going to do. So sometimes I have them stand….sit….stand….sit….tickle the sky…fishy….tickle the sky… and sometimes its really short, and sometimes very long. And sometimes if I use some bass notes they start to giggle because they think its hilarious and they go “Ms. S you are trying to trick us!!” With the older groups they should be able to decipher UP and DOWN based on I V or V I and now they are forced to listen. I should probably be mention that the reason that they call it the bubble game is that while the regular music is playing, the students are supposed to explore the space but they can’t touch another student or they are “out” because what happens when two bubbles touch? They pop.Classroom Music Games – Music Treasure HuntSelect 4 contrasting instruments (any that you like…for example a scraping sound, a hitting sound, a shaking sound and a pitched percussion or barred instrument) Each instrument will represent a sound (left, right, forward, backward). Practice moving around the room to the sounds. Choose 4 students to play instruments, 1 to be the “treasure hunter” and 1 to be the “conductor.” The hunter should go near the door and close his or her eyes (you can use a blindfold too if you like). Then place something (stuffed animal, etc.) somewhere in the room to be the “treasure”. Everyone else has a seat on the ground like a “rock” in the ocean. The conductor tells what instrument to play in order for the hunter to move around the room and find the “treasure” (while their eyes are closed!!!) If they bump into a rock, the game is over and new players are chosen. If they “find the treasure” they are giving an “Authentic Music Treasure Hunter Certificate.” This can be used especially when working on timbre…in older grades the students have brought in their band instruments….and we use a brass, woodwind, string and percussion instrument for the 4 sounds!
Classroom Music Games – Music Memory
Draw a collection of music symbols on the whiteboard and have the students name them as you do so. After that have them turn their backs (or turn the white board around) and erase one. They must name the missing one. Keep going until they are all gone.Frog in the Middle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VibKxDUGsI
Version 1:
1. Everyone sits in a circle
2. One person stands in the middle of the circle (they are the frog) I usually go first.
3. The groups sings the song and as they sing the person in the middle closes or covers their eyes and they spin around with one arm extended out and their pointer finger out.
4. When the song is over the person in the middle stops spinning and opens their eyes.
5. The person they are pointing to becomes a runner and so does the person to their right (will have two runners) 6. The two runners stand up and the person in the middle stands in their spots. They will put their hands to their sides with palms up and elbows bent (like their saying "Why?) 7. The two runners will run in opposite directions. They don't go until the person holding their hands up says "Ready Set Go!"
8 When the two runners meet up with each other they must stop and greet
each other.
9. They shake hands and say "Good morning", then shake with the other hand and say "Good Afternoon", then pat both hands together (up above their heads) and say "Good Evening"
10 They continue to run trying to get back to their originally spot 11. When they get to their spot they must tap the hand of the person who is holding up their hands 12. Whoever taps first becomes the next "Frog in the Middle"
Version 2:
You could have students use each others name when they greet. Before they start to run the person in them middle will decide who is student 1 and who is student 2. Student 1 will shake the hand of student 2 and say "Good morning Jenny". Then they switch hands and Student 2 will say student 1's name "Good morning Michael". When they pat both hands together they would say "See you later" and then continue on running. This version would require that everyone knows each others names.
Version 3:
Kids form a standing circle.
The "frog" goes in the center.
The "frog" has arms outstretched and turns around, to choose 2 runners - one where each of his hands is pointing.
The "frog" turns both hands palm up, waiting for the runners to clap his hands.
The runners race around the circle back to their original spots. The first runner to touch the "frog's" hand is the winner.
Since both runners are going in the same direction, there's no danger of collision.
I have all 3 - "frog" and runners sit down in the circle so we know they've had turns and continue the game until everyone has had a turn.
Math Musical Chairs Play math musical chairs by first taping to each chair a math problem written on paper. Start the music; when it stops, everyone must find a chair. Whoever does not find a chair can challenge any of the students. That student must answer the math problem taped to that seat in order to keep it. If he answers incorrectly, the other student must answer the question correctly to win the seat.
Substitute Music Lesson idea – Music Travelling
One of the best ideas I ‘ve ever tried was “Music Travelling”. It can work very well with preschoolers and primary school children and it promotes creative expression, self confidence, cooperation, geographical knowledge and respect of other cultures. It is also suitable for children with special needs. All you need is a CD with music from different countries, a globe and any other material that you feel that children could use, like ribbons or a big piece of fabric and pictures of traditional instruments. The CD I have prepared contains music from China, India, Russia, Spain, Africa, Japan, South America, Greece and England. So this is how we play the game. As children sit on their chairs we pretend they are on the airplane. The globe turns around and we land for example on China, which is the destination for some ” passengers”( the children sitting on the left table). They have to get off the airplane and visit the country, dance with the music the way they feel like or share with the rest of the class some knowledge they might have of this country.The rest of the class can help with this bit…The same continues with all the music. Ideally you can start and end the session with music from your own country. In the end you can give them a piece of paper and ask them to make a picture of what they found most exciting from their travelling. As they draw you play the CD again.Rhythm Telephone
This game is suitable for most elementary classrooms and is a good way to keep kids quiet when they have to wait in line. Have the children line up. Walk to the front or back of the line and tap a pattern for the first or last child in line. When you tap the pattern, tap the child's shoulder and cover your hand while doing so. This way only that specific child knows the rhythm pattern. Keep the pattern simple. Have that child imitate what you did on the shoulder of the next student in line. Continue until the pattern has moved through the entire line. Have the last student clap the pattern out loud to see if it is the same as the one you did. Frere
Jacques Partner Dance
The tune "Frere Jacques" is sung. During the first line, children and their partners join hands and take eight steps. On the second sung line, children point at their partners with one hand and then the other. The third line is sung while hands are joined, jiving back and forth. On the fourth line, one child claps twice to the beat followed by the other child clapping. Many singing games follow similar stimulative patterns."One Half Claps, One Half Says"
The class is separated in half and one half of the class claps out a rhythm the teacher has on the note card. The other half of the class, without seeing the note card, has to speak the rhythm using the words "ta" (for longer notes) and "tee" (for shorter notes). This game may also be done with one child where the teacher (or parent) does the clapping and the child does the speaking. Even finding the beat to a song can be considered a decent rhythm game for elementary kids.Rhythm Chain
Have the child who chooses the flashcard go to the front of the room and begin a rhythm chain. Each time you add a child holding a card, have the class clap the rhythms in order. Then, have the children holding the cards turn away from the class and have the class clap the rhythms without seeing them. How many patterns can your class remember?Mad Sad Glad
2 containers (the "Feelings" hat and the "Song"): 1) sheets of paper that say either mad, sad, or glad; 2) Familiar songs (Twinkle, Twinkle; Jingle Bells; Three Blind Mice; Mary Had a Little Lamb; MPCS School Song; A You're Adorable; Good Morning to You). Divide students into teams of 4-5; each team has 2 sub-teams (a & b). Each turn, a team has an opportunity to earn 2 points when each sub-team sings the song with the chosen feeling and the other sub-team guesses the feeling. Additional points can be awarded if teams are timed and fastest team gets a point.
Create a Melody - Improvisation
You can't do it wrongWhen you make up a song
Any tune you create
Will turn out sounding great!
Methods: 1) Chant the words to a steady beat repeatedly and follow the up and down inflections of your voice; 2) Clap your hands to get a beat and feeling going before making melody up.
Post Office:
Each student is given an envelope containing three or more indexcards. Each card has a known four beat rhythm pattern or a four beat
melodic pattern in stick or staff notation. The students open their
mail and place the cards so they can see all of them. The teacher
claps a message and the students hold up the card for the teacher to
see. After the correct rhythm has been determined, that card is put in
the envelope and the game continues using the remaining cards until
all have been clapped.
King Leopold
I have 1-2-3 Echo Me (That's the book it's in, right?) but I think I saw
it on the list before I got the book, so I probably don't play it
exactly like the instructions say. That's my disclaimer, now here's what
I do, and it has always seemed to work well...
I start off with a story to explain the game: we all live in a kingdom
over here on this side of the room, and we are invited to a
party/ball/whatever in a kingdom over there on the other side of the
room. Only thing is, King Leopold's kingdom is in between our kingdom
and the kingdom where the ball is, so we have to walk across it to get
there. But you don't just walk through someone else's yard or kingdom or
property without asking first, so we have to ask King Leopold if it's ok
to walk across his kingdom to get to our party...
So then a King or Queen is chosen and ensconced in the throne with the
crown and everything (I always used my teacher chair with wheels for the
throne and had a construction paper crown) and told that they can either
let the people cross or ask them to use a different voice to ask again.
The group sings the question first (so-mi) and the king/queen responds.
I display my voice pictures where the king/queen can see them, and if
they tell the group to ask again, I will take down whatever voice they
ask them to use so they don't keep asking them to use the same voice.
That also puts a limit on the turn - once they've asked all the voices,
they have to let them cross!
Once the king/queen gives permission, the rest of the class walks to the
other side of the room (we are polite and respectful of others' property
and walk across, not run!). Then, of course, after the party we have to
go home, so we have to ask King Leopold again if we can walk across his
kingdom... So a new king/queen is chosen, lather, rinse, repeat. (I
always choose the first king/queen with my index cards or popsicle
sticks, and usually I continue to choose that way for subsequent rulers,
especially if we're doing just one or two rounds as a time filler at the
end of class - when I used index cards, I'd make a note on them once
they had a turn so I'd know who to pick. You could also let the reigning
king/queen chose their successor.)
Several Games, including some listed above.